Staff focus
Hélène Tyrrell
Hélène is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Newcastle Law School, where she has been a member of the faculty since June 2016. Prior to joining Newcastle, she held academic appointments at the University of Durham, Queen Mary University of London (where she completed her PhD) and the University of Lille in Paris.
Hélène's legal research interests lie in the field of public law and human rights, with a focus on courts, judges, and judicial reasoning. Her monograph, Human Rights in the UK and the Influence of Foreign Jurisprudence (Hart 2018) was a runner-up for the Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship and was long-listed for the Inner Temple Book Prize 2022 (Main Prize). Her co-authored article 'The Extrajudicial Voice' received the Society of Legal Scholars Best Paper Prize in 2023, reflecting her commitment to rigorous, thought-provoking scholarship that informs both academic and professional legal communities.
Hélène’s research has informed public policy and shaped legal debate in the UK and beyond. Her work on human rights has contributed to multiple UK Government consultations and has been cited in Parliamentary Committee reports. She has provided oral evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights regarding proposed reforms to the Human Rights Act 1998, and her scholarship has been referenced by judges of the UK Supreme Court and other senior courts internationally. She is currently co-leading a research project on extra-judicial communication, for which the next major output is a co-edited volume featuring a foreword by Lord Dyson (forthcoming, Hart 2026).
Hélène is a passionate and innovative legal educator whose teaching spans constitutional law, administrative law, human rights, legal skills, and judicial studies. She is deeply committed to helping students build confidence, develop essential legal competencies, and realise their full academic and professional potential. Her teaching practice is grounded in pedagogy, with a focus on creating inclusive, intellectually rigorous, and engaging learning environments. Hélène has shared some of her pedagogical innovations through prize-winning / prize nominated publications, including the co-authored papers 'Let them Eat Cases' and 'The Student as Lecturer' (ca-authored with undergraduate students). She is currently co-editing a book on staff–student partnerships in law schools (Edward Elgar, expected 2027). Her dedication to excellence in teaching has been recognised through multiple accolades, including being named 'Law Teacher of the Year' at the Northern Law Awards. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In 2025-26 she is teaching on two core first year modules: Constitutional Law; Administrative Law and Human Rights and is the Deputy Director of Education in the Law School.
